


A Crowded Christmas

by alafaye



Category: Marvel
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-16
Updated: 2015-12-16
Packaged: 2018-05-03 12:11:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5290163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alafaye/pseuds/alafaye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn't what Phil had planned, but he shouldn't have made plans when he knew his lover would manage to find another way of celebrating.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Crowded Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ereshai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ereshai/gifts).



> Thanks to my beta, mm8. All remaining mistakes are my own.

Christmas morning, Phil was eating his breakfast standing up in the doorway. It was not yet eight in the morning, but he'd been up since six when Clint had left their bed to start breakfast for... Phil couldn't be bothered to count, but it was a lot of people. His entire kitchen table, breakfast nook, and living room had been taken over. It was why he was eating standing up and not in bed as he had planned.

He caught Clint's eye across the room and raised an irritated eyebrow. Clint looked sheepish in return.

_November_

Clint breathed deep before he opened his eyes. Muzzily, he looked over and smiled. "Morning."

Phil pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Morning. We both have the day off."

Clint's smile widened. "Is that so? I'm sure you have plans?"

"Oh, one or two," Phil said slyly. "But it isn't what you're thinking."

Clint pouted. "No morning sex?"

Phil chuckled. "I think we can work that in. But, first!" He pushed Clint back down when he'd tried to sit up, eager. "First, I wanted to talk about Christmas."

Clint wrinkled his nose. "Halloween happens and suddenly all anyone wants to talk about is Christmas."

"It's because I know better," Phil argued. "Tony likes to throw a big party and everyone goes. But this is our first Christmas together."

Clint raised an eyebrow. "Are you seriously asking me to skip out on an amazing Christmas party to spend the day tucked away with you in bed instead?"

Phil frowned. "Well, if it's that amazing--"

Clint kissed his cheek. "I'd love nothing more than to spend Christmas with you, at home."

Tackling him, Phil kissed his lover. "Thank you."

"Mm. Now this kind of thanks I love. So. Planning. You do know that we have almost no Christmas decorations."

"Which is why my plans for today include going out to the shops before the rush."

"But morning sex first, right?"

~~~

Clint was in the kitchen, yawning and making coffee. He'd just woken up after a marathon sleep -- the last mission had lasted two weeks and he hadn't gotten much time to sleep.

"Why was the store playing Christmas music?" Bucky asked, walking into the kitchen so quietly that Clint jumped.

He considered Bucky's question, but it was difficult. He wasn't sure if he needed more sleep or because he'd slept too much. "Because it's November?"

Bucky frowned and looked at the calendar that Steve had pinned to the wall. "Christmas isn't until the end of December," Bucky said slowly, as if unsure. 

Clint shrugged. "Things have gotten really crazy. It's all commercialized now. And the more money stores can pull from people, the happier they are."

Bucky still looked confused. Clint was really hoping that Sam would manage to keep Steve in bed for a little longer. No one wanted a pissed off Cap this early in the morning. "But why Christmas music in November?"

"It's so people will spend more money," Natasha explained as she joined them. "Don't scare Clint before he has his coffee; it'll short his brain out."

Clint frowned at her, but couldn't actually figure out why she was wrong. He sipped his coffee. She smiled and patted his arm. "If they play the music now, it'll remind people that they have gifts to buy and maybe some new decorations to get. More money."

Bucky shook his head. "Confusing."

She nodded. "I know. Come on. I want to spar."

Bucky looked at her like she was crazy. Clint had to agree with her. But now that he was thinking about Christmas and that it was Bucky's first Christmas since his... de-brainwashing?... and the fact that Tony's Christmas party involved a lot of people and Bucky still didn't like crowds... Clint called out, "Do you have somewhere to go for Christmas, Barnes?"

They looked back him, innocent. Well, Natasha did. Bucky just looked more confused. Clint made an impulsive decision and hoped Phil would forgive him.

~~~

"Christmas?" Daisy laughed. "A little early to be thinking about it."

Clint sighed. "It is, but then Bucky was asking about Christmas music and why it was already playing and I realized that he may not have anywhere to go. I mean, he could go with Steve to Sam's parent's place, but that would be super awkward. And he could go to Tony's shindig, but crowds!"

She nodded. "And really, who wouldn't want an old super spy who can kill someone without blinking visiting their home during this holiday season?"

"Exactly!" Clint said, pointing a finger. She raised an eyebrow. He smirked. "So. You in?"

She shrugged. "I'll catch a ride with Coulson, sure. Thanks, Clint!"

~~~

Bruce raised his eyebrows. "I'm sure I'll have something that needs to be worked on here."

"Bruce."

"Hulk destroying your house? Nuh uh. Besides, isn't this your first Christmas with Phil? I thought you two would want to celebrate it by yourselves?"

Clint shrugged. "We did, but then I thought about Bucky and how he still doesn't like crowds and of course he can't go with Steve with Sam's parents' house. And Daisy, the kid from Phil's team? She doesn't have any family to celebrate with."

Bruce raised his eyebrows. "And me?" 

"You almost never go to Tony's parties -- too much noise. And I know that Christmas is a difficult time for you and I thought, why wouldn't you want to join the rest of us antisocial idiots in a joyful Christmas silence? It'll be low stress to keep Bucky from freaking out."

"I'm not good company. Remember, Hulk?"

"Bruce."

"Will you go away if I say yes?"

"I'll hold you to it."

_Christmas_

Yeah, Phil could see the exact scene, from one to the other, of how his home was filled with all these people. Some he knew had come on their own, no prompting, but the others had Clint's work written all over them. Their home wasn't big enough for everyone; he still wasn't sure where they had slept. He knew not all of them had, but most of them were still in their pajamas. They were used to sleeping in odd places, but his floor? It hadn't been cleaned in weeks! (Well, there had been a nest of blankets in the tub, but that was worse than the floor. He should really think about hiring someone to clean. Just once a month.)

He was lucky that Clint had been expecting so many people. Though, now that he thought about it, he should have known something was up. Clint had been setting up for this many people for the last week. What had Phil been doing that he hadn't noticed?

He crossed the kitchen, weaving between people who were moving beyond eating at the table to just eating where they were having a conversation, even if they needed to move the chairs. He set his plate and cup aside and pushed Clint's legs apart to settle between them.

"Morning," Clint said, amused. "Weren't you the one all about discretion?"

Phil shrugged. "It's Christmas. I had plans, you know. Lots of plans."

Clint frowned. "I know. I'm sorry."

Phil sighed and put his hands on Clint's hips. "I should've known better than to plan for a quiet holiday. You have a penchant for collecting strays."

"So do you!" Clint pointed out. "Besides, I couldn't let Bucky spend Christmas alone! And if I hadn't invited him, he probably would have followed Steve and Sam!"

Oh, Phil could imagine how that would have gone down. Now that Bucky was doing better, Sam was getting possessive of Steve's time. Bucky showing up to Christmas dinner with Sam's parents? Well, Phil wouldn't have said no, but now? He shook his head. "Thank you for telling me how this started. But it's fine."

"It isn't, though, is it?" asked Clint. "You had plans."

Phil breathed deep and kissed him. "I don't know when we're going to have another quiet day together, but I've become used to adjusting plans where you're concerned. Long used to, as a matter of fact." He smirked. "Let me see if Natasha will cover for us. All these people -- they only need a small distraction."

Clint looked over his shoulder. "Speak of the devil."

"Go. I've got this," Natasha whispered. "Sorry for intruding, by the way."

Phil smirked. "Sorry? You knew that this was going to happen."

"Not this many people, I'll grant you," she corrected him. "But the least I can do is give you guys a little quiet time. Go. Quickly. Before Bucky sets off the smoke bomb."

Clint laughed. Phil subtly took his hand and they left the kitchen by the porch. A quick jump from the railing to the ceiling and they crawled into one of the guest bedrooms. When everyone started yelling, they locked the door to their bedroom.

"Merry Christmas," Clint said, grinning.

"Merry Christmas. Now, it's late, but I do have a present I was hoping to give you this morning."

"I'll just get naked, shall I, sir?"

"It would be preferred."


End file.
